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By: Ashby H.R. No. 2403

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the 2024 appointments for State Poet Laureate, State Musician, State Two-Dimensional Artist, and State Three-Dimensional Artist; and

WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the arts, the Texas State Artist designation is conferred on individuals who represent the best of our rich and diverse artistic community and who inspire others through their unique creative expression; and

WHEREAS, Amanda Johnston, the 2024 State Poet Laureate, has authored two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and a full-length poetry collection, Another Way to Say Enter; named one of the "13 Black Poets You Should Know" by the tech media platform Blavity, she has been published in numerous online and print publications, as well as in the anthologies Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry and Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism; she is the former board president of Cave Canem Foundation, a cofounder of Black Poets Speak Out, founder of Torch Literary Arts, and a member of the Affrilachian Poets; her work has earned her several fellowships, grants, and awards, and she has facilitated creative writing workshops and served as a presenter at universities and literary venues across the country; and

WHEREAS, The 2024 State Musician is Kelly Clarkson, who rose to stardom as the winner of the debut season of American Idol and has since gone on to captivate fans and critics alike with her powerhouse vocals and down-to-earth charm; following her chart-topping first album Thankful, her sophomore release, Breakaway, sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and established her as a global sensation; she made subsequent forays into rock, country, and R&B, demonstrating her versatility as a recording artist while continuing to rack up hits, Grammy Awards, and Grammy nominations; in recent years, she has become one of the titans of daytime television as the host of The Kelly Clarkson Show, and her work in television has also included stints as a coach on The Voice and as cohost of American Song Contest; and

WHEREAS, Michael Ray Charles has been named the 2024 State Two-Dimensional Artist; a contemporary painter, Mr. Charles explores the enduring legacy of racial stereotypes in media through challenging works that incorporate minstrel characters into compositions resembling vintage advertisements; a Louisiana native who now teaches at the University of Houston, he draws on his studies in advertising design and illustration to create his unique and subversive imagery, which has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, and the Austin Museum of Art, among other locations; his works have received critical acclaim and have also been a source of controversy, and in 2001, he was the subject of a short documentary on the program Art in the Twenty-First Century; and

WHEREAS, The 2024 State Three-Dimensional Artist, Diana Kersey, specializes in creating visually detailed architectural ceramics for interior and exterior spaces; the Lubbock native has been commissioned by the City of San Antonio, VIA Metropolitan Transit, the San Antonio River Authority, and other entities to craft colorful public art pieces featuring her translucent, earthy glazes, and her body of work further encompasses a collection of highly intricate and boldly designed vessels and platters; she serves on the faculty of Northwest Vista College in San Antonio and owns and operates Kersey Ceramics, LLC; and

WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to hold these prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant cultural life of the Lone Star State, and Texas is indeed fortunate to be home to these talented individuals; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate the 2024 Texas Commission on the Arts honorees and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued fulfillment in their creative endeavors.